Sunday, 15 March 2015

Okay, before you begin, you need to know that 1. I am writing this from snippets of a serious back log of blog posts that were never posted because I didn't have the energy or confidence to complete them and 2. I have no idea where I am going with this. As with most blog posts....

SO ladies, let's talk. I had one of THOSE weeks this week. You know the kind, where it feels like you've swallowed a gremlin and the little things like dropping a pen on the floor make you think 'That's it, I'm done with this shit. If you need me I will be under my duvet crying into a tub of Ben & Jerrys', OR you go the other way of someone asks you how you're doing and you proceed to rip their head off (it was the Gremlin I swear) and then go and cry you feelings into a packet of McVities biscuits. And once you come out of the dark side at the end of that week you look back at your erratic behavior and wonder whether you should do your hair before the men in white coats take you away...

Moving on, and not to state the obvious but it is hard work being female. Like seriously, there are just too many feelings. Girls over think. Girls over think everything. We have too many emotions and feelings and thoughts and sometimes it does feel like we're going to drive ourselves to the brink of insanity. And that all happens in the space of like 15 minutes. Try being a girl for 24 hours and convince yourself you're still sane after. Hard. Work. I think 'Blank Space' by Taylor Swift pretty much sums up the insanity of the female species...

Sometimes when you're really losing yourself you feel you need grounding. Here is where this blog post comes in. I figured these are the things I need to remind myself when I go full girl crazy on myself:

Stop Overthinking

Oh you know what I mean ladies. We're all guilty of over analysing every single situation and conversation ever. We over analyse until we drive ourselves to the brink of madness. This needs to stop. It's not healthy and it's not wise. Next time you find yourself over analyzing a text you received from a friend, just stop. Put your phone down and go and do something fun. Forget it. If you're going to over analyse something, make it an over analysis of whether cake is something you could live without or chocolate....I just can't choose...

Stop Worrying

Little Miss Hypocrite is my name. I tell people to stop worrying all the time when I am Queen of worrying. I worry about everything and everyone all the time. These days when I feel myself over thinking and worrying about a situation I say to myself it will work out eventually. And looking back at all the things I have carried with me for so long or worried about for so long have actually worked out for the best. I mean, I don't wanna say 'I told you so' to worrying Laura but....I totally told you it would be fine...

Stop being the joke

Back in the days of when my self esteem was at an all time low I would often use myself as the joke to make humour with friends. I was putting myself down, highlighting how useless I was and how funny this was. I have noticed I am doing this a lot again recently. It's all fare and well to laugh at yourself, in fact you absolutely must. But to constantly make yourself weak to amuse others is a very bad approach and definitely needs to be avoided. You got that Laura?

Don't Panic

This kind of goes with the worrying thing. Being a nervous girl, worry tends to bring on panic and this where I fall down. If you like me completely lose your shit when you're really worrying....KEEP CALM AND REACH FOR THE GIN....I am kidding, reach for the gin but also remind yourself all will be fine in the end, even if it doesn't feel like it at the time.

Avoid the Poison

This is going to sound SO lame but I knew I was in a good place recently because the things that used to bother me don't anymore. Whether it's something a friend would do or something I'd see online, something that would bring me annoyance or make me worry. That has stopped. I blame this down to being busy in a good way. I'm consumed in blogging, making the most of seeing the people I love and being stuck into work. These things keep me busy at all hours of the day so I have less time and energy to spare on the negative side of life. It's a great feeling and I can't recommend enough getting stuck into something.

Spread the good

This is a tough one. As much we all like to think we're nice people, there are days when someone gets us so down we want to strike back. There's always quotes floating around on the internet telling us we should do good to others even when others aren't as kind. I try to remember this a lot these days.There's a nice little quote bobbing about with this new wave of feminism that we got going that states strong women build each other up not tear each other down. This is definitely something to always remember even when you feel wronged.

And lastly, when you feel like you're crazy and out of place and the world can't handle you, be brave, remember all the best people are crazy and just strut your stuff you sassy little thing. OR ask yourself what would Beyonce do. She'd be all 'I WOKE UP LIKE DIS'

You flawless.

And remember, it's okay to be loud, it's okay to throw your head back laughing, it's okay to have that extra bit of chocolate or cake, it's to okay to wear what you want whether it's in or out, it's okay to be different and it's okay to be bubbly, laughable and just full in crazy.

Sunday, 8 March 2015

I always find that when you highlight your blogging hobbies to those who don't or never have blogged, you tend to get a responses like

'Pffft sounds so easy, I should do it'

or

'Ooooh I want to blog so I get lots of free stuff!'

And as a blogger at that point you whither a little inside at their blissful ignorance before throwing your laptop at them. When I have sat down and explained to people the process I go through for one blog post from writing it to taking photos to editing photos to posting it and promoting it, I've lost them at the first point. I then get a response of 'Oh wow that seems like a lot of effort'. When you think about it like that it seriously is. For the majority of this blogs existence, even if it has taken effort and time for me to blog, I have always had the time of my life doing so and therefore it has felt effortless (Please no one actually read through my blog archive and note the amount of times I complained about how tired I was to blog). However this was a blissful time when I was floating from student life to graduate life to unemployed dog waittress/freelancer/blogger life and therefore there was always a time to blog. I noticed not long into my new job that I was finding it harder and harder to blog. Blog content got sloppy, I wasn't promoting it to the extent I used to and in turn my blog has suffered. For a while I have been sad about this because I feel I owe a lot of where I am and who I am today to The Confessions Of A Professional Drama Queen. And yes you have my permission to throw up after reading that sentence.

Don't get me wrong, I love my job and I love the crazy, fast and busy turn my life has taken, I constantly feel like there are new opportunities on my doorstep and it's nice to feel like there is always something to do or someone to see. However with my new hectic life it's so hard to manage every aspect of it so evenly. I sometimes feel so dizzy I will turn into a whirlwind/tornado like Taz the Tazmanian Devil (Throwback or what?!). As my blog has taken most of the blow of the chaos I struggle to find the energy to blog. I mean right now it's half 9 on a Wednesday evening, I am sat trying to keep my eyes open and finish this post knowing fully well tonight is the only chance I have this week. ADULT LIFE IS TIRING PEOPLE. PITY US ALL.

Anyways boo hoo me lets get over the X Factor sob story for a moment

I thought I'd compile a few tips on what I find helps keep me organised and by god don't take any notice because if I am falling asleep over a laptop on a Wednesday evening , clearly I am going wrong somewhere....

1. Plan Ahead

Probably the most obvious one of all but seriously, you know how people always say that if you organise stuff with schedules and plans then things get more accomplish-ableish? Well yeah turns out they weren't joking. I recommend having a set day in the week that you know you can publish a blog post and promote it. I tend to pick either Saturday or Sunday. Knowing you need to post a blog post by then gives you structure to you week of when you could attempt to write one. I also recommend some kind of diary or organiser. Mostly because you can get really cute pretty ones that make you feel all efficient but so you can organise yourself too. I will give you so many internet hugs if you actually stick to your schedule...That's another challenge in itself...

2. Seize The Opportunity

This is something that I am sure will become much easier in the summer but in the harsh, cold and dark months of winter, like many bloggers, I found it so hard to get photos for blog content. You need good lighting and time to take good shots. Coming home in the pitch black every night until the weekend makes it extremely difficult to achieve this. I found that having a camera on hand at any point in your day when you are out and about provides great opportunity to take photos of anything that you enjoy or inspires you. Even if you don't plan to blog about it, it's best to have a back log you can refer back to when you know you don't have the opportunity to time to get a good daylight shot.

Bring on summers night is all I am saying!

3. Get Tech Savy

Okay I am not saying become a tech guru but search what is out there that can help make your blogging efficient. I owe a lot of this to my job because I have to use various tools for social media etc every day but there is so much out there to help you plan, write and promote content. My personal favorite is Tweetdeck as it helps you monitor all aspects of Twitter whilst scheduling tweets for when you can't be about to promote your blog.

4. Don't Force It

If you can't muster the energy or time to blog then don't. The more you try to force yourself to do something then the less enjoyable it becomes. Sometimes I skip blogging for a week and I enjoy the break. You can't constantly churn out content because that's the unwritten rule of the blogging world. Blog what you want when you want. It's supposed to be a fun hobby not a chore.

Now all of the above points are great but whether they are achievable is another question when you're consistently here there and everywhere. I am constantly scanning blogs for advice on consistency and organizing blogging. I still have big hopes for blogging but I think this years aim is to keep at it once a week instead of aiming for unattainable goals I know I can't reach.

If you have any tips on blogging around a work and social life, PLEASE send them my way. Like seriously. I'll take anything. Just visualize a tornado flying about an office, on the streets and through a house and that is where you shall find me...

P.S. I never finished this blog post on that Wednesday night, I continued into my lunch break at work and into another night *falls asleep on keyboard*